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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

A. CTLER.

DESK. No. 308,142. I Patgnted Nov. 18. 1884.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.,

A. GUT LER.

` DESK. No. 308,142. Patented Nov. 18, 1884.

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ABNER OUTLER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO A. OUTLER di SON, OF SAME PLAGE.

DESK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 308,142, dated .November 18, 1884.

Application tiled May 29, 1883. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABNER GUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Desks 5 and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and toletters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of business-desks which have flexible sliding covers; and it consists in certain improvements in' the parts of the desk in which the flexible sliding cover operates, and in the locking mechanism of which the iiexible sliding cover forms a part, all as will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 are similar sectional elevations of my improved desk, showing the ileXible sliding cover and other operative mechanism in their two eXtreme positions. Fig. 3 is an enlarged View of a portion of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawings, a is the body portion of the desk, and a are the drawers located therein.

bis the top of the desk proper, which extends beyond the body portion a in the rear,

' and in such extension is cut the opening b.

c is one of the permanent sides of the deskcover, having on its inner face the groove c', in which one side of the iiexible sliding cover cl is operated. The side portions, c, have the extensions c2', which project beyond the body portion c and below the top, b, on either side of the back portion of the desk, and in which a continuation of the grooves c are formed.

Upon the outer edge of the top b, beyond the opening b', is located the back portion, e, of the permanent cover of the desk, and upon the upper edge of this back portion, c, and a part of the permanent sides c, is located the permanent top e' of the desk-cover.

In pushing the iieXible sliding cover d back to open the desk, such flexible cover passes within the permanent portions c, e, and e of the cover, down through the opening b in the top b, and along the outside'extensions, ci', of the sides c.

The construction just described enables me to make the permanent top e much narrower than is permissible in the old form, thereby leaving the top of the desk more open when the eXible cover has been pushed back, and by increasing the depth of the projections c2 the permanent top e may be lowered correspondingly. rlhe last strip, d', of the flexible cover d is made higher than the rest d2, and just sufficient to entirely close the space d after the cover d is in closed position.

In Figs. l and 2 I have shown an improvement in the automatic locking mechanism for the drawers of the desk, for which Letters Patent No. 257,475 were granted to me May 9, 1882. In such gures h is a sliding bar, which is seated in a vertical groove in the side wall of the desk. This sliding bar 7L is held at the lower end in the groove by a keeper, h.

h2 are pins upon the bar h, which are adapted to be engaged or disengaged with notches a2 in the drawers c', in locking and unlocking the same.

7c is a lever pivoted near the sliding bar h, one end of whichv extends under a pin, h3, upon the bar h.

Z is a spring which rests upon the pin h3.

The parts thus far described are substantially the same as shown in my patent just referred to, but are operated by the sliding flexible cover d in a different manner, substantially as follows: The rear end of the 1ever k has resting against it a pin, m, which is tted loosely in a socket in the top b'of the desk. n is a lever pivoted in the side of the desk at a. The lower face, a2, of this lever rests upon the pin m, and its upper end, n3, extends up to a point just below the opening da, and rests against the upper end of a cleat, o, which prevents it from tipping forward when the desk is closed, as shown in Fig. 1. p is a projecting strip secured at the inner edge of the lower portion of the iieXible cover d, which, when the cover d is pushed back to open the desk, strikes the upper end, a3, of the lever a, which in turn pushes down the IOO pin m against the lever k, which raises the sliding bar 7L and releases the drawers of the desk, so that they may be opened, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. When the cover d is pulled back to lock the desk, the several part-s of the locking mechanism assuine the positions shown in Fig. l, through the action of the spring Z.

I claim- 1. A business-desk having the top b provided wth the opening b, the cover composed of the flexible sliding portion d, and the perinanent portion consisting of the side walls, c, having the extensions c2, the rear portion, e, and top piece, e', the side walls, c, and eX- tensions c2 having the continuous grooves c', in which the flexible sliding cover is operated, substantially as shown and described.

ABNER GUTLER.

Witnesses:

FRED II. CUTLER, WV. T. MILLER. 

